Just the Strangest Thing
by Irhaboggles
Summary: As she told Dillamond, in all her years of being a midwife, she'd never seen a green baby before, yet that's exactly what she got at the Thropp house! It was just the strangest thing! But as Dillamond would later learn, stranger things were yet to come...


"You know, Dillamond, I saw the strangest thing not too long ago!" said Rolla as the two of them dined together.

"Oh?" Dr. Dillamond asked interestedly, it had been far too long since these two old friends had been able to find time to visit one another.

"Yes! Just last month, I believe it was!" Rolla said. "I had been called to help a preacher's wife give birth to her first child and it went swimmingly at first…" Rolla trailed off for a second. "But then the baby came out… _green_!"

"Green?" Dr. Dillamond echoed, almost wondering if he had heard his old friend correctly.

"Yes! Green!" Rolla repeated sincerely. "I swear it to you on my life!"

"Astounding!" Dr. Dillamond sat back in his seat again, eyes wide with wonder. "But how?"

"No one knows," Rolla replied mysteriously. "Not even her family! They have no history of magic, nor of green skin from genetics. And she came out of the womb that way, so it wasn't like she'd had time to get into any sort of trouble! It's just the strangest thing!"

"Well it wasn't something her mother might've consumed during the pregnancy, was it?" Dr. Dillamond asked.

"She swears she ate nothing out of the ordinary, and that she followed a very strict diet," Rolla replied.

"Hmmm, how odd!" Dr. Dillamond continued to marvel, stroking his beard with a cloven hoof.

"I know, right?" Rolla agreed. "I have spoken with a few people since and no one has any idea in the slightest what caused the green skin!"

"I can't think of anything myself, if that's what you're asking," Dr. Dillamond replied.

"Oh, no, it wasn't," Rolla replied. "I simply wanted to tell you because it was just the strangest thing!"

"Yes, it is," Dr. Dillamond agreed, still stroking his beard. "But what did the family say? How did they react?" he asked.

The tone of the dinner became much more somber after that.

"It was… interesting… to say the least," Rolla admitted, face growing serious and unreadable. "The mother seemed to be far too surprised to really show much of a reaction at all while the father was far more… opinionated."

"He didn't hurt the child, did he?" Dr. Dillamond demanded, sitting up straighter in his seat, eyes flashing indignantly.

"No, no, he didn't," Rolla promised, trying to soothe her old friend down again. As meek, mild, shy, quiet and gentle as Dr. Dillamond was, he held quiet a fiery temper. He was a passionate soul, especially when it came to social justice. It was something that Rolla shared in common with him. Even though he had become a biologist and she a midwife, both of them had huge hearts and a deep interest in looking out for the little guy. It was why they had chosen the career path that they did, each of them believing that their path was the best path to helping their wounded world.

"He _was_ a bit… shocked at the state of his child, and he did seem angry, but he did not harm the girl," Rolla continued.

"Good," Dr. Dillamond slowly sank back into his seat. Rolla had been a midwife for many years and he had heard horror stories from her about what angry parents would do to their newborn if the newborn didn't come out the way they planned. He was glad to hear that this strange little green girl had not suffered a similar fate.

"Yes, I finally convinced him to keep the child and he agreed," said Rolla.

"Finally convinced?" Dr. Dillamond echoed, eyes narrowing again. Rolla gave him an apologetic nod.

"I know it's not as good as accepting her with open arms, but it was all I could do," she said.

"Hmmm," Dr. Dillamond grunted. "Well. He'd better take good care of her, or I'll send you back there to become her Nanny Goat!"

"Oh, ha ha," Rolla rolled her eyes, but she knew Dr. Dillamond was being somewhat serious and her heart went out to him. Under his gruff and awkward exterior, there was a true heart of gold. It was another reason why he became a biologist. The first was that he loved science, especially biology. The second was because he wanted to use his prowess in the field to help the world around him (possibly by making some big, beneficial discovery for the world). Then the third was because he found it easier to work alone in a lab with cells and samples rather than to work with other living beings, just because he cared so deeply. Too deeply, in fact. He wanted to do service work, but he knew he could never work too closely with other creatures, just because he cared too much…

Oh yes, Dr. Dillamond was good at controlling his emotions, but Rolla knew his limits. While Rolla managed to be content with just making sure that the little green girl remained in her family's care, Dr. Dillamond likely would've just tried to take the baby for himself and even if he would've made an infinitely better father than what the green girl got, it wasn't exactly ethical to run off with a baby like that. So while Rolla handled the service work in a more hands-on environment, Dr. Dillamond restrained himself and remained in a lab. But they both had the same values and goals at heart. It was what made them such good friends and kept them that way, even after their lives took such different turns.

"You might've very well saved her life!" Dr. Dillamond muttered, still clearly offended by the green girl's cruel father.

"Well, perhaps," Rolla looked down shyly. Even if it was true, she always got flustered by compliments like that. And not for the first time did she wonder if Dr. Dillamond ever wanted to have a family of his own. He never said. But she knew he was more than capable of caring for one…

_And who knows? _The Goat asked herself. _Maybe he will one day become a father. Oz knows he'd be wonderful at it! And wouldn't it be just the strangest thing if he did ever get to meet that green girl? Ah, but now I'm talking crazy. The odds of that are astronomical, and I don't need a Doctor of Science to tell me that!_

Then slowly, the chat between the two Goats shifted and, by the end of the night, both of them had completely forgotten the green girl…

ooo

As Dr. Dillamond prepared to greet his first class of the day, he sat at his desk and shuffled papers, only looking up once when the students started to file in. At first, he only gave them a cursory glance, intending upon learning their faces later, but then one particular face stood out to him against all the others. It was bright green. And it belonged to a woman. Suddenly, Dr. Dillamond was jumped back 17 years ago, returned to a little diner where he and an old friend of his had discussed just the strangest thing she'd ever seen…

"Well, well, well, Rolla," Dr. Dillamond whispered to himself, "I think I finally got to meet the green girl after all… And if your guess was correct, then she'll be needing a better father figure in her life and I think I know just the Goat to do it!" he said and his eyes remained glued on her until class began. While all the other students filed around her (giving her a very wide berth) Dr. Dillamond could only stare at her in awe and smile, shaking his head a little. Sweet Oz, life could certainly end up changing on a person (or Goat)! What were the odds? And as he continued to muse upon the mysterious green girl from 17 year ago who was now about to become his student, he could only think one thing: it was just the strangest thing!

**AN: Has anyone else ever headcanoned the midwife at the start of the musical as being a friend or relative of Dillamond's? Because it would explain part of the reason why he warmed up to Elphaba so fast (aside from their many similarities). Or am I just being "Animalist" by assuming that these two Goats just HAD to know each other because they were both Goats? I legit have wondered this ever since I first saw the musical and yet, I've never seen anyone else come to the same conclusion.**


End file.
